Waldner (Waltner) family

A Hutterite family name, Waldner was originally found in the area of Aemlach, Carinthia, Austria. Jörg Waldner was one of the Lutheran Carinthian exiles who were expelled to Hungary in 1755 because they refused to accept Catholicism. He was sent to Transylvania, and there became part of the Hutterian Brethren at Alwinz. His son Johannes Waldner, a preacher, was the chronicler of the Klein-Geschichtsbuch. He died in Russia on 14 December 1824. During this time the Hutterites abandoned their practice of community of goods. Michael Waldner, also a preacher, reinstituted community of goods in 1859, and joined the immigration to the United States in 1874, where the first North American Bruderhof was established at Bon Homme, 20 miles west of Yankton, SD. The name is now found in many Hutterite communities in the United States and Canada. In 1959 there were 34 Hutterite ministers with this name. The name (Waltner) as found in the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM) is of Hutterite origin. Erland Waltner was the president of the Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, IN, and Lena Waltner was an art instructor at Bethel College. Harris Waltner and James Waltner were both GCM pastors in Kansas.